Ecological Society photo competition features STUNNING images of the natural world

Overall winner: Roberto García Roa, University of Valencia, Red night, A Malagasy tree boa perches in a tree. 

Overall runner-up: Mikhail Kapychka, MSU Kuleshova, Autumn texture, A birch forest in autumn. 

Overall student winner: Nilanjan Chatterjee, Wildlife Institute of India, Flames in flumes, A plumbeous water redstart waits by the cascades to catch a mayfly or stonefly for a meal.

Category 1 – Up Close and Personal

An image displaying the intricacy of nature using close-up or macro photography.

Winner: Roberto García Roa, University of Valencia, Fluorescence, A small scorpion in Madagascar glows under UV light. The function of fluorescence is still unclear.

Student winner: Khristian V. Valencia, University of Antioquia, Colombia, Harlequin, A harlequin frog exhibits one of its less common morphs in the shade of the leaves of the Chocó understory.

Category 2 – Dynamic Ecosystems

Demonstrating interactions between different species within an ecosystem.

Winner: Roberto García Roa, University of Valencia, Small Warrior, A small spider found in Malaysia captures a comparatively huge ant.

Student winner: Pablo Javier Merlo, Nacional University of Córdoba, Are you seeing the same as me?, A cow and a chimango contemplate together the breath-taking Beagle Channel in the southernmost mountains of the Andes.

Category 3 – Individuals and Populations

A unique look at a species in its environment, either alone or as part of a population.

Winner: Felix Fornoff, University of Freiburg, Sleeping still, Leafcutter bee offspring in nests made from ovate leaf cuttings thoroughly arranged in multiple buffering layers by their mother bees.

Student winner: Khristian V. Valencia, University of Antioquia, Colombia, Watchful, A cloudy snake fixes its gaze on succulent prey.

Category 4 – People and Nature

An interesting and original take on the relationships between people and nature.

Winner: Andrew Whitworth, Osa Conservation & The University of Glasgow, Why did the sloth cross the road?, A female three-toed sloth crawls across the road. Luckily on this occasion the driver of the truck had spotted her in good time.

Student winner: Gergana Daskalova, University of Edinburgh, Thawing away, A human silhouette is dwarfed by the size of a retrogressive thaw slump on Qikiqtaruk-Herschel Island in Canada. The shifts resulting from these slumps can echo through the whole ecosystem. This photo was taken on an expedition supported by the National Geographic Society.

Category 5 – Ecology in Action

Showcasing the practice of ecology in action

Winner: Molly Penny, University of the West of England, The Rhino’s Annual Haircut, A rhino gets its horn trimmed. This is done annually to help protect it from poaching.

Student winner: Gergana Daskalova, University of Edinburgh, Capturing tundra vegetation change, Drones are used to capture the bigger picture of how climate change is altering northern ecosystems. This photo was taken on an expedition supported by the National Geographic Society.

Category 6 – The Art of Ecology

A creative and original take on photography denoting ecology

Winner: Peter Hudson, Penn State University, For the love of Flamingos, A flock of flamingos fly high over Lake Magadi in a heart shape.

Student winner: Sanne Govaert, Ghent University, Teeny tiny world, This tiny mushroom, a Mycena spp., was growing inside a rotten tree trunk. Due to the microclimatic conditions inside the trunk, condensation had formed on the Mycena.

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